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Republicans Bitcoin Crime

Trump Promises He'd Commute the Life Sentence of 'Silk Road' Founder Ross Ulbricht (semafor.com) 283

In 2011 Ross Ulbricht launched an anonymous, Tor-hidden "darknet" marketplace (with transactions conducted in bitcoin). By 2015 he'd been sentenced to life in prison for crimes including money laundering, distributing narcotics, and trafficking in fraudulent identity documents — without the possibility of parole.

Today a U.S. presidential candidate promised to commute that life sentence — Donald Trump, speaking at the national convention of the Libertarian Party as it prepares to nominate its own candidate for president.

Commuting Ulbricht's life sentence is "a top demand" of a political movement that intends to run its own candidate against Trump, reports Semafor: "On day one, we will commute the sentence," Trump said, offering to free the creator of what was once the internet's most infamous drug clearinghouse. "We will bring him home." His speeches more typically include a pledge to execute drug dealers, citing China as a model.

"It's time to be winners," said Trump, asking rhetorically if third party delegates wanted to go on getting single-digit protest votes. "I'm asking for the Libertarian Party's endorsement, or at least lots of your votes...."

"I've been indicted by the government on 91 different things," Trump said. "So if I wasn't a libertarian before, I sure as hell am a libertarian now."

More coverage from NBC News: At times, Trump turned on the crowd, criticizing libertarians' turnout at previous elections. "You can keep going the way you have for the last long decades and get your 3% and meet again, get another 3%," Trump said following jeers from the crowd.
Another high-profile supporter for commuting Ulbricht's sentence is actor-turned documentary maker Alex Winter. Best known for playing slacker Bill S. Preston Esq in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its sequels, Winter also directed, wrote, and co-produced the 2015 documentary Deep Web: The Untold Story of Bitcoin and the Silk Road (narrated by Keanu Reeves).

Writing earlier this month in Rolling Stone, Winter called Silk Road "inarguably a criminal operation" but also "a vibrant and diverse community of people from around the world. They were not only there for drugs but for the freedom of an encrypted and anonymous space, to convene and discuss everything from politics to literature and art, philosophy and drugs, drug recovery, and the onerous War on Drugs..." It's my firm opinion, and the opinion of many prison-system and criminal-law experts, that [Ulbricht's] sentence is disproportionate to his charges and that he deserves clemency. This case indeed reflects just one of the millions of unjust sentences in the long and failed War on Drugs... No matter what one thinks of Ulbricht, Silk Road, or the crimes that may have been committed, 10 years in prison is more than sufficient and customary punishment for those offenses or sins. Ross Ulbricht should be free.
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Trump Promises He'd Commute the Life Sentence of 'Silk Road' Founder Ross Ulbricht

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  • by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Saturday May 25, 2024 @11:38PM (#64499451)

    So what do you expect? A sudden consideration for something besides his own interests?

    • by LindleyF ( 9395567 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @12:01AM (#64499479)
      Doubt he knows anything about this guy other than his name.
      • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @01:02AM (#64499545)

        Doubt he knows that much. All he knows is that it's a potential political button he can press to trigger a Pavlov reaction with some people. That's all he's after.

        • Doubt he knows that much. All he knows is that it's a potential political button he can press to trigger a Pavlov reaction with some people. That's all he's after.

          He's done this before. He commuted the sentence of a fraudster who stole $230 million from people, and once released, that same person turned around and committed fraud again [businessinsider.com].

          The attorney for the fraudster had this to say:

          "Does it help if you have money and the right connections?" Barry Wachsler, who paid legal fees associated with Mr. Weinstein's court appeals and clemency push, told The Times. "You know, I guess it does. It definitely does."

          Stereotypes exist for a reason.

  • Wow (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Mr. Dollar Ton ( 5495648 ) on Saturday May 25, 2024 @11:38PM (#64499453)

    What a very blatant act of whoring. Is Don Snoreleone in some sort of trouble to peddle himself so cheaply?

    • Re:Wow (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Mr. Dollar Ton ( 5495648 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @01:21AM (#64499581)

      Even the libertarians aren't very much impressed, though: https://www.c-span.org/video/?... [c-span.org]

      • Big schism in the LP right now, some far-right white supremacists weirdos have made the usually amusing weirdos in the Libertarian Party look bad. Some of the people I know are super pissed and want to kick people out or leave the party, they aren't quite sure yet what is even feasible. But they want to get the hell away from the racists and fascist-loving fake libertarians.
        Some of these guys are super weird, they say things like that believe only the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution are valid, and s

        • But they want to get the hell away from the racists and fascist-loving fake libertarians.

          Well, that, at least, is a good thing. From what little I know, it appears LP is an umbrella for anything from complete anarchism to Laissez-faire fascism, so I don't know if it is really a party, or just a convenient label to manifest one's snowflakeness.

          • >LP is an umbrella for anything from complete anarchism to Laissez-faire fascism

            It boils down to "I should be allowed to do anything I want" with absolutely no consideration of what happens when everyone else is doing that same thing. They all think they will be the local warlord with gangs of thugs protecting them... which is statistically impossible of course. They're far more likely to be the poor peasant who can't afford protection and gets frequently brutalized with no method of recourse.

            And even

          • Re:Wow (Score:5, Insightful)

            by GameboyRMH ( 1153867 ) <gameboyrmh@gmaTWAINil.com minus author> on Sunday May 26, 2024 @12:40PM (#64500619) Journal

            I think "fake libertarians" are most of the people who identify as libertarians. The party is just too convenient of a hiding place and close-enough political position for people with publicly unacceptable ideologies, so it's mostly packed with racists, fascists, and corporatocrats, with a few "true libertarians" who either don't understand that they're vastly outnumbered or are willing to hold their nose and stay in the tent.

        • people are all over the map on what parts of the official platform they accept.

          So it's basically a religion?

          • It's more like a public library that lets anyone inside, but only stocks Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman.

  • by Ksevio ( 865461 ) on Saturday May 25, 2024 @11:44PM (#64499459) Homepage

    The guy has no moral convictions, he just says whatever the people in the room want him to, unless he's already had an opinion on the subject in which case he'll never change

    • by Firethorn ( 177587 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @12:49AM (#64499529) Homepage Journal

      Correct. Back in the day he took a full-page ad out calling for the Central Park 5, who were eventually exonerated of the crimes they were accused of, to be executed.
      Now he's going to commute the sentence for somebody convicted of being involved in murders for hire?

      Though I lived through the '90s. The height of the violent crime epidemic (you think violent crime is high now, it was something like 3X higher back then). Desperate measures were considered frequently.

      • somebody convicted of being involved in murders for hire?

        Ulbricht was never convicted of any murder for hire.

        Prosecutors accused him but admitted that no murders had taken place, and they didn't have sufficient evidence to convict him of even attempting to hire a murderer.

        One of the reasons the Libertarians are pushing for his release is that the murder-for-hire allegations were used during the sentencing phase to convince the judge to give Ulbricht a much harsher sentence, and that's not how the courts are supposed to work. He's basically locked up for life for

        • One of the reasons the Libertarians are pushing for his release is that the murder-for-hire allegations were used during the sentencing phase to convince the judge to give Ulbricht a much harsher sentence, and that's not how the courts are supposed to work.

          So why this guy then? That's a systemic flaw throughout the entire justice system and plea bargaining in general.

          No, it's not anything like "try and fix something that's broken", it's "make a token act while not changing anything or even admitting the sy

          • So why this guy then?

            Ulbricht is a libertarian hero for championing free markets.

            The government went after him as part of the WOD, which libertarians want to end.

            He went to prison for life for matching willing buyers with willing sellers.

        • >"He's basically locked up for life for something that was never proven in court."

          He was convicted of "Drug Trafficking Conspiracy" and "Distribution and aiding and abetting distribution of narcotics" which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Same thing El Chapo was charged with.

          • "Maximum sentence" is very different from "typical sentence".

            The maximum sentence is high to coerce people into plea bargains and to disproportionately punish those who assert their right to a fair trial.

            90% of Federal indictments end in plea bargains, 8% are dismissed, and 2% go to trial.

      • Correct. Back in the day he took a full-page ad out calling for the Central Park 5, who were eventually exonerated of the crimes they were accused of, to be executed.
        Now he's going to commute the sentence for somebody convicted of being involved in murders for hire?

        Though I lived through the '90s. The height of the violent crime epidemic (you think violent crime is high now, it was something like 3X higher back then). Desperate measures were considered frequently.

        Back in the day? He still hasn't backed down [nytimes.com]!!

        “You have people on both sides of that,” he said at the White House. “They admitted their guilt.”
        “If you look at Linda Fairstein and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city never should have settled that case — so we’ll leave it at that,”

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Indeed. While there are reasons to admire somebody who is willing to do whatever it takes, such a person should never be given power of any kind.

  • by SeaFox ( 739806 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @12:15AM (#64499503)

    Tell us again about the illegal immigrants flooding our country with drugs.

  • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @12:57AM (#64499537)

    Maybe he'll free him, "bring him home"... and then shoot him.

  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @01:01AM (#64499543)

    They have before. They might now.

  • They're the reason I always need to clarify "small elle libertarian, not big elle party member".

  • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @01:02AM (#64499551)

    Honestly... How anybody with half a brain cell still listens to this guy is beyond me. And it's not even a political opinion: this guy talk crap all the time. Even if you're a hard-core republican and you agree with his societal project - and your moral values aren't put off by the whole Stormy Daniels thing - you can't possibly not see that he's talking utter crap.

    • The college educated republicans realize this, and so do the people with intelligence anywhere near average. That leaves about a quarter of the party that believes the guy. You gotta remember that theres an entire news ecosystem that backs up what he says, so anyone susceptible to getting fooled by info overload strategies is gonna have a hard time figuring out that hes a BS machine.
  • Buckle up for six months of him doing all sorts of crazy shit like this in a desperate last ditch effort to stay out of jail. Serving as president? That's the last thing on his mind.
  • I remember (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @01:54AM (#64499633)

    When Trump said Take the guns first, go through due process second https://thehill.com/homenews/a... [thehill.com]

    But his cult was somehow all hard of hearing that day.

    • I'm reminded of the time where the democrats and the republicans both proposed essentially identical red flag law bills. The only difference was that the republican version had tight timelines for judicial review, as well as measures to protect the confiscated property. Both failed in party-line votes. Lost some respect for the democrats that day. Because a red-flag law with judicial review should be better under their world view than no red-flag law, but they still vetoed it, meaning that they want the

    • But his cult was somehow all hard of hearing that day.

      Just that day?

  • Media companies... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by VeryFluffyBunny ( 5037285 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @02:59AM (#64499711)
    ...love Trump. I wonder how many $billions US media corporations have made by platforming & amplifying that arsehole's verbal diarrhea? They don't seem to care that by legitimising his & other arseholes' bullshit, they're helping to undermine democracy. I bet the 6th January riots made a tidy sum for them too.
  • by zeeky boogy doog ( 8381659 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @03:03AM (#64499717)
    "Psychopathic narcissist and pathological liar says whatever he thinks whoever he's talking to wants to hear so they'll do something for him."

    Nothing he says has anything to do with truth, reality, what he will do in the future, or what he has done in the past except by pure coincidence. All I can say is, we're lucky that he's so breathtakingly stupid that after an entire lifetime of lying, he still hasn't learned that you shouldn't tell lies that are unnecessary or trivially disproven.
    • ...he's so breathtakingly stupid that after an entire lifetime of lying, he still hasn't learned that you shouldn't tell lies that are unnecessary or trivially disproven.

      Why not? The important thing is that his supporters couldn't care less if it's the truth or a pack of lies.

      You can literally show them the proof and they just don't care, they're happy to be lied to.

    • YOU haven't learned that you can completely fool 40% no matter how blatantly obvious you are if you copy Trump's behavior. You can whine like a spoiled rich brat but if you do it in a angry bully tone people don't see you for the wimpy snot you are.

  • I would still prefer the later to be pardoned, since he's a fictional character. And the former was into murder for hire in real life.

    • And the former was into murder for hire in real life.

      Odd that he didn't get convicted of murder then...

      • by madbrain ( 11432 )

        Fair enough. The charges were dropped by the feds. Apparently because he was already going to serve life on other charges.
        Which doesn't mean the conspiracy to commit murder didn't happen, but it isn't proven.

  • by Mirnotoriety ( 10462951 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @04:27AM (#64499789)
    a. Don't use rossulbricht@gmail.com to engage in an illegal online pharmaceutical business.

    b. Don't conduct business, day after day, in the same public library.

    c. Don't conduct your illegal online pharmaceutical business on Microsoft Windows.
  • It proves they don't care about crime as long as you'll suck fascist dick. You can murder people in broad daylight but if you suck the right dick the legions will decry it as a political stunt and get your murder trial deleted.

    You can't brag about executing drug dealers while simultaneously letting one go. That...is pretty disgusting. It shows it's not about the crime at all. That none of this is about rule of law.

    It's about "rule over people".

    • I think Trump is a bit darker than "rule over people". He just wants to be right all the time, while he is ... just plain stupid. The only way he can be right is by controlling people and dragging them in his own made up logic. So ruling over people is just a side effect, not the main motivator, in my opinion.
      It is a fanatic form of denial, that he shares with a lot of his supporters. Oh well, reality will eventually hit them in the face, and again and again and again. Of course, they will just keep denyin
      • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        "He just wants to be right all the time, while he is ... just plain stupid."
        Trump doesn't believe in right and wrong, knowledge is the enemy to Trump.
        Trump thinks everyone is like him, only he's better at it than everyone else. It's not about being right, it's about his lies being accepted as truth. Everything is a lie according to Trump, so it's only a matter of whose lies win out.

        "So ruling over people is just a side effect, not the main motivator, in my opinion."
        Ruling over people is not a side effect,

  • I take it you wants to free a convicted criminal because someone else doesnâ(TM)t want to free him. Whatâ(TM)s going on? Has Biden been asked about Ulbricht and said "he's convicted for life, so he should serve life", and now Trump must say the opposite? Or why does he come up with rubbish like this?
    • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      Trump doesn't want to free anyone but himself. Trump cares about no one but himself.

      Trump is looking for groups of votes that can be bought with cheap promises, regardless of how offensive they are. Offensiveness is merely a bonus.

    • Trump wants to free a convicted white collar criminal because he wants to set a precedent for his own case.

  • by cascadingstylesheet ( 140919 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @08:03AM (#64500035) Journal

    So, when some people say that the guy's sentence was excessive and should be commuted, well, you like those people, so that's okay, lol.

    (Yes, Trump is a clown ... but to my amazement, you still can't do better than a clown. It's also ironic watching a bunch of guys in rubber noses and fright wigs pile out of the clown car to point at him and call him a clown ... )

    Yes, I would just hate to have that full employment, super low inflation, and energy independence back. Somebody save us, lol!

    • You mean what he had before the Ukraine war when we could easily get cheap oil, gas and food?

      Yeah, kick Russia out of Ukraine and we have that again.

  • Quote of the day (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dfghjk ( 711126 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @08:22AM (#64500071)

    "I've been indicted by the government on 91 different things," Trump said. "So if I wasn't a libertarian before, I sure as hell am a libertarian now."

    Listen carefully, SuperKendall and all the rest of you genius Libertarians, Trump believes you are all criminals just like he is. Trump thinks Libertarians are a union of criminals trying to avoid accountability. Is he wrong?

  • Especially why he dropped that "all you get is the 3%" bomb.

    Because even the libertarians booed him and called him a hypocrite. And when the big, orange baby had enough, he threw a tantrum.

  • Did everyone forget all the non-drug items on sale on that site?
    Murder for hire et c...

  • They should have asked Trump why he supports civil asset forfeiture and his opinions on bump stocks.

    The libertarian party is hopelessly infiltrated by whacknuts who never met a tyrant they didn't like.

  • Didn't go so great. Good number of them made a stand, bless 'em. Now, he'll want to dissolve that org (Trump supporters and all) after destroying it's leaders (Trump supporters and all) for defying him unless the major voices produce tribute. Which will seem like betrayal to it members (sorry kids) and it will then crumble. After the election of course.

  • Only Trump could speak to a crowd and tell them they are all criminals to win their vote.
  • by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @10:26AM (#64500341) Journal

    And Trump was booed relentlessly, both coming in and leaving. He was basically booed offstage.

    Libertarians, as misguided and myopic as they may be, aren't falling for Trump's bullshit, not even a little.

    This actually raised my estimation of Libertarians by a microscopic amount.

  • by PPH ( 736903 ) on Sunday May 26, 2024 @02:35PM (#64500863)

    The reason for the life sentence was evidence supporting murder for hire plots. Although this wasn't part of the charges, the court did find the evidence to be substantive. Had Ulbrich confined himself to the money and drugs, I could support a much lower sentence. He was offered a deal for a ten year sentence, but he turned it down. But given the murder conspiracy evidence, I'd say let him rot in jail.

    There is a long distance between what I consider a true Libertarian philosophy and the "anything goes" position of Ulbrich. If we want more Libertarian principles to be adopted into our system of government, we need to demonstrate that there still will be limits. To make it palatable to the majority.

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